I have written many times in this space that I oppose any criminal prosecution of prior-administration officials on torture or other issues relating to the Iraq War and the war on terrorism, especially those CIA interrogators who relied in good faith on the instructions of policymakers and the legal opinions issued by Justice Department senior officials. I have agreed with President Obama on the need to look forward, not backward. But I have changed my mind about the need to indict former Vice President Dick Cheney for complicity in illegal torture. [Editorâ€™s Note: Read Lanny J. Davis' columns in The Washington Times. Go here now.] His insistence on putting himself on multiple TV programs and conservative radio talk shows, not only defending torture but offering the defense that it worked, has changed my mind. Not only that -- he went on to attack Mr. Obama as weakening the United States in the war on terrorism because Mr. Obama immediately announced that torture would no longer be allowed. Dem's fighting words. They are also, in my view, reckless and irresponsible. They seem to be laying down a marker that in case, God forbid, there is a terrorist attack, Mr. Cheney can be the first to blame it on Mr. Obama's policies and say, "I told you so." Even more, they seem to be an in-your-face dare by Mr. Cheney to the U.S. criminal justice system: "I am Dick Cheney, I approved violations of the law in the name of the war on terror, and what are you going to do about it?"

They seem to be laying down a marker that in case, God forbid, there is a terrorist attack, Mr. Cheney can be the first to blame it on Mr. Obama's policies and say, "I told you so."

That's one of the objectives you idiot so we can hold Obama accountable for dismanteling the security safeguards that kept us attack free for 7 years. Obama must be made that there are consequences for his actions.

I agree, and Cheney can subpoena everybody in congress to find out who all knew including obozo. Lanny knows that Cheney is winning this argument and yes Bama will be blamed for the next attack since we haven't had one under Bush/Cheney thanks to being proactive.

Yep, dare to speak out against Obamessiah and get the full force of the federal government against you. Oh Hitler would be so proud of his disciples. I wish I were exaggerating, but i am not. There is not an ounce worth of difference between todays Socialist Democrats and the National Socialists of Germany. This is exactly what Hitler would do.

17
posted on 05/18/2009 5:14:38 AM PDT
by Always Right
(Obama: more arrogant than Bill Clinton, more naive than Jimmy Carter, and more liberal than LBJ.)

That's one of the objectives you idiot so we can hold Obama accountable for dismanteling the security safeguards that kept us attack free for 7 years. Obama must be made that there are consequences for his actions.

Alas, but when the elephants fight it's the grass that get's trampled. IOW,this "lesson" for Obama will be of cold comfort for those whose loved ones died.

32
posted on 05/18/2009 5:28:13 AM PDT
by yankeedame
("Oh, I can take it but I'd much rather dish it out.")

Lanny is the lawyer for TaxFree Charlie Rangel? How about an indictment for Charlie?

From the website of the Workers World Party:

"Dear Comrade Kim Jong Il...

With his leadership [Kim Il Sung], the Korean people defeated the Japanese colonial occupation and soon after brought about the first defeat of the U.S. imperialist military machine. ...

Workers World Party values our close, comradely relations with the Workers Party of Korea very highly. We are proud to have known Kim Il Sung as a great leader and a comrade in the international communist movement. ..."

Photo of Charlie Rangel at the podium of a March 19th, 2005 Workers World Party/Troops Out Now rally in Harlem, New York. The occasion marked the 2nd anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. The photo comes from the ("We are proud to have known Kim Il Sung as a great leader and a comrade in the international communist movement. ...") Workers World Party website.

Also appearing at this "peace" rally with the demonRat Charlie Rangel, now chairman of The House Ways and Means Committee, were Saddam Hussein lawyer, Ramsey Clark and convicted terrorist enabler/attorney, Lynne Stewart. Clark, with Workers World Party, started up that other 'peace' group, A.N.S.W.E.R. Clark also heads the International Action Center and was actually once Attorney General of the United States under democrat LBJ.

Former Abu Ghraib Brigadier General, Janis Karpinski, AND chief Bush administration 'torture' investigator, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, are both endorsers of revolutionary communist org/movement

FYI: The org "World Can't Wait" is a known front for the Revolutionary Communist Party. The RCP, on their website, calls for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Former Abu Ghraib Brigadier General, Janis Karpinski, is listed as an "endorser" of the "World Can't Wait" movement on the WCW website.

House Judiciary Committee chairman/chief Bush administration "torture" investigator, democrat John Conyers Jr of Michigan has also given his endorsement to the Revolutionary Communist Party movement/organization, "World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime" (they'll probably be dropping the "Drive Out the Bush Regime" portion of their name soon).

Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson's are further down the list. Former Black Panther, Illinois congressman Bobby Rush, is on the list as well. (the BPs were Maoist revolutionaries/domestic terrorists). Janis Karpinski's name appears several after convicted cop killer/Black Panther, Mumia Abu-Jamal's. http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2538&Itemid=2 ___________________________________________________

Endorsers of the [World Can't Wait] Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include:

World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime is a Maoist-revolutionary movement organized by the Revolutionary Communist Party. Scroll down the list that appears (after clicking link) to find the World Can't Wait organization (rwor.org is the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party):http://rwor.org/a/rwlink/links.htm ___________________________________________________

From David Horowitz's FrontpageMag.com /DiscoverTheNetworks.org:Profile: World Can't Wait (WCW)

*Revolutionary communist movement that stages protests against the Bush administration

*Organizes college and high-school students

*Founded in June 2005 by Charles Clark Kissinger, a longtime leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party

From the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us or rwor.org) :

"Create Public Opinion, Seize Power: We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time when there is a major crack in the system, whenever it comes and wherever it comes from: an opening that makes it possible to bring the future Revolutionary Army of the Proletariat (R.A.P.) into the field and wage a revolutionary armed struggle that actually has a chance of winning.

And we have said that building our party itself is the most important part of organizing forces for revolution. This is true now, and it is true looking forward to the creation of that future R.A.P. and the waging of that armed struggle.":

On Oct 5, 2006, Democrat Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr, the same guy who is leading the 'investigation' of the Bush administration, gave a friggin SPEECH to the World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime organization, the "anti-war" for the Revolutionary Communist Party!http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3801&Itemid=69 ___________________________________________________

"This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English..."

___________________________________________________

From the GatewayPundit, June 02, 2006...

Debunking the Deranged Charges by Media Darling Col. Karpinski

Let's see... the media needed to find someone to play along with their Haditha madness so who better than the... discredited, delusional, blaming, angry, and paranoid Colonel Janis Karpinski of Abu Ghraib fame who has mysteriously moved from villainess to hero in the eyes of the mainstream media.

Well, maybe not so mysterious since Karpinski is now a crowd favorite for the Far Left enthusiasts.

Karpinski with fellow extremist and Castro supporter Harry Belafonte at the January "International Commission of Inquiry On Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration"

Colonel Karpinski is a definite crowd pleaser with the anti-war crowd for her strange attacks on the military and Bush Administration.

(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. released a nearly-500 page report documenting numerous abuses and excesses of the Bush administration. The report, titled "Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the presidency of George W. Bush," contains 47 separate recommendations designed to restore the traditional checks and balances of our constitutional system. Recommendations include calls for continued committee investigation, a blue ribbon commission to fully investigate administration activities, and independent criminal probes.

"Even after scores of hearings, investigations, and reports, we still do not have answers to some of the most fundamental questions left in the wake of Bushs Imperial Presidency," Conyers said. Pointing to allegations of torture and inhumane treatment, extraordinary rendition, warrantless domestic surveillance, the Valerie Plame Wilson-leak, and the U.S. attorney scandal, Conyers continued, "Investigations are not a matter of payback or political revenge  it is our responsibility to examine what has occurred and to set an appropriate baseline of conduct for future administrations."

In addition to the set of recommendations, the report contains a foreword by Chairman Conyers and detailed discussions of: the administrations legal approach to presidential power; the politicization of the Department of Justice; the administrations far-reaching assaults on individual liberty (including torture, extraordinary rendition, and warrantless domestic surveillance); the misuse of Executive Branch authority; the administrations retribution against its critics; and the administrations excessive secrecy, noncompliance with congressional oversight, and manipulation of pre-Iraq War intelligence.

Forewarned is forearmed. It is Cheney’s obligation as a citizen to speak out if he believes that this nation’s security is being compromised. This isn’t about politics or partisan advantage. It is about national security.

It is surprising that for such a smart fella, Lanny Davis evidently does not recognize how transparently political his demands for prosecution are.

First Davis tries to ascend to the high ground: "I oppose any criminal prosecution of prior-administration officials on torture ...." But all the reasons and considerations supporting this judgment are now to be junked because Dick Cheney has the temerity to criticize the Obama administration: "he went on to attack Mr. Obama as weakening the United States in the war on terrorism because Mr. Obama immediately announced that torture would no longer be allowed." What is wrong with that? Lenny Davis says "Dem's fighting words." Worse, if there is a terror attack Barak Obama will look bad as a result of Dick Cheney's warning.

So for purely political purposes, attorney Lanny Davis who acted as a television shill to shield Bill Clinton from his felonies, now wants the former vice president of the United States indicted so his new boss will not look bad.

And what is the crime? Violation of this statute as described by Mr. Davis himself:

The 1994 federal law making torture illegal defines torture as "any act that causes severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, intentionally inflicted on a person for such purpose as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession."

It is constitutionally impermissible to prosecute someone under a statute so vague that it is unreasonable. This statute is obviously unconstitutionally vague because it criminalizes "any act" which can be "mental" which causes "suffering." Hell, my wife should be doing 10 to 20 right now. Any nagging wife trying to get information out of her husband has committed a crime. The statute is unconstitutionally broad.

Lanny Davis blithely subjected the country to the most mindnumbing contortions to justify the criminal behavior of Bill Clinton at a time when we had objective proof that he was a felon. How do we know that Bill Clinton committed perjury? This we know, for the DNA tells us so.

Now Mr. Davis wants to prosecute patriots because they exercise their right of free speech, because they go before the country and warn of a security threat. Lanny Davis wants to prosecute that because it makes Obama look bad.

I cannot imagine a quicker and surer way to undermine the rule of law in America not to mention a better or surer way to undermine good government.

It (water boarding) has been used as torture from the Inquisition to Nazi Germany, and was prosecuted as a war crime after World War II.

Lanny, stop it. Yer killin' me.

During the Inquisition they used much tougher methods to make one convert. And like the Gestapo, SD, etc, would waste time water boarding when they had 'juicer' methods available to make one talk.

ps: Hey Lanny our own troops are water boarded during SERE training. Should all those instructors be indicted too? Oh, almost forgot. In our US Army Special Forces (Green Berets for those in Rio Linda), when you go through SCUBA School (voluntary). At one point you "think" you're drowning too. So how about indicting those instructors?

42
posted on 05/18/2009 5:43:49 AM PDT
by Condor51
(The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits)

But I have changed my mind about the need to indict former Vice President Dick Cheney for complicity in illegal torture............... His insistence on putting himself on multiple TV programs and conservative radio talk shows, not only defending torture but offering the defense that it worked, has changed my mind.

LOL! How juvenile can you get? This is the kind of stuff grade schoolers say.

Lanny Davis is simply telling Cheney to either shut up or be indicted. He is hurting the Obama Administration “Big Time” and they want him shut down. It’s not going to happen. Cheney is out there on the talking circuit defending himself and others against the silly charge that the use of waterboarding was/is illegal. Furthermore, he will not be indicted because there is no case against him that wouldn’t have to be brought against Bush, Pelosi, Rockefeller, Goss and a host of Congress Critters all of whom knew and, in effect, approved of the waterboarding of captured terrorists.

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